Second Way To Save: Stack Your Savings Potential
Savings Stacking is a great way to reduce your costs on purchases, and it can really add firepower to the previously mentioned "dimes to time" method of getting the cost of your purchase returned to you over time, because the more you save in the purchase itself, the less time it takes to get a 100% return.
But savings stacking isn't just about clipping coupons. It is looking for combined deals on items, and usually includes some sort of cash back offer.
Currently, one of the best ways to stack is to use an American Express Serve card with the Softcard app to make purchases. The reason why is you can get things at the sale price, or even discount offers through Softcard, and then make the purchase through Softcard using a Serve card and you'll get $1 back on that purchase.
Depending on what you're buying, that dollar back can mean anywhere from 1% to over 100% back. Yes, you read that right. There were times where I made money from my purchases.
Over the Summer, Softcard and a local gas station were offering f'real ice cream shakes for $0.29. They are regularly $3. So I was already saving a ton of money on them. But add in the $1 cash back from using my Amex Serve card with the Softcard app, and I netted $0.71 on the transactions. Not bad! Then I bought gas using the same method and got $1 back on 10 gallons of gas, or 10 cents off per gallon.
Or take for instance a local movie theater that accepts Softcard where I've gone on dates with my wife. We purchased $5 Tuesdays tickets and got $1 back, saving 25%. At this same theater, you can take a refill cup and get a drink for $1 instead of $4. But wait, there's more. Use the Amex Serve/Softcard combo and the $1 back makes it free. I even do the same thing at McDonald's, which also accepts Softcard. Free drinks, cheaper movie tickets and food? Yes, please!
One of my other favorite ways to stack is using a Delta Skymiles card that is tied with the Delta Skymiles dining program and using them in addition to coupons or other deals offered in the store. A few times, I have been able to stack 5 savings together at Dickey's BBQ. It went something like this: I was on a date with my wife and we both ordered the daily special, which is basically already discounted. We both used a $5 off coupon which made them even cheaper. I used my Skymiles card which gives me miles for every purchase, and since Dickey's participates in Skymiles dining, I get more miles for using a registered card there. Then I put my number in the Spendgo terminal at the register, which gives you about 1 point for every dollar you spend. Once you earn 80 points or so, you can buy a daily special for free.
See how awesome that is? Something that was going to cost about $8 each ended up costing about $2 each. And only one of the methods required me to bring in a coupon. The other savings were automatic or electronic.
In the next part of the series, we'll put it all together and show you more ways you can save by combining all of these ideas.
